ETNZ ranked number three on global power list

In the 2020 Sports Technology Annual Review and Industry Power List published this month, Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) has been ranked at number three on the Global Power List by the STA Group and the English Institute of Sport.

The report, which looks at the influence of technology in sport ranked Emirates Team New Zealand behind F1 and the Tour de France respectively, but ahead of 47 other sporting powerhouse teams and governing bodies including the NFL, NBA, Wimbledon, PGA Golf, Nascar, EA Sports, Formula E, Barcelona FC, Nike, FIFA, and ESPN.

“To be honest this came as quite a surprise to myself and the team being included on this list of such significant sporting global entities,” says ETNZ CEO, Grant Dalton.

“Certainly, we are a sports team, but 100% with technology and innovation at our core. So when you think about it, maybe it is not entirely surprising because as an organisation if we don’t lead the wave of innovation and technology we simply will not win the sport event on the water. It is as simple as that.”

The conclusions drawn throughout the report are based on three sources:

• Submissions into The Sports Technology Awards Group awards from the past three years.
• Information from the English Institute of Sport’s Performance Innovation team.
• Independent research and verification from a variety of sources.

The report states:

“As current holders of the America’s Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand have dictated the move away from the previous hydro foiling catamaran towards the innovative AC75 foiling monohull, which is said to be faster and safer than previous iterations.

“With cup holders holding sway over the competition, not only hosting the event but also dictating equipment, rules, and race format, Emirates Team New Zealand is in an influential position in a competition which leads the way in sailing design, instrumentation and telecommunications.

“With a pedigree in the use of simulators, these platforms have driven Emirates Team New Zealand’s hardware, software, firmware, and tactical decisions and will do so as the 2020 America’s Cup World Series approaches. As if this wasn’t impressive enough, all this, of course, takes place on water.”

“Seeing the way brands understand and embrace a tech-led approach is exciting, but more than that, the ones which do it well are clearly far more robust entities,” says Rebecca Hopkins, CEO of the Sports Technology Awards. “Emirates Team New Zealand is outstanding in the way technology runs throughout its organisation, however, it ranked so highly because of the huge degree of influence it commands within its sport.”

INEOS (team) comes in at 33, but it’s not clear which of INEOS’ teams this references.

Watch the ETNZ boat in build: